1) Community vulnerability to tsunamis: Past research has included USGS reports summarizing variations in community exposure to tsunamis in Hawaii, Oregon, and Washington and journal articles describing various geospatial techniques to assess societal vulnerability to tsunamis. Wood was also a committee member for a National Research Council review of the nation's tsunami warning system and national preparedness for tsunamis. Current research focuses on developing geospatial approaches to characterize pedestrian evacuations from tsunamis and to develop societal-risk metrics for tsunamis.

2) Community vulnerability to climate change and coastal storms: Research focuses on assessing current and future community vulnerability to coastal storms, sea level rise due to climate change, and increasing urbanization of hazard-prone areas. Past research has focused on Sarasota County (Florida) and Kauai Island (Hawaii). Current research focuses on community vulnerability on the Oregon and Washington coast to climate-change-enhanced coastal erosion in collaboration with Oregon State University, via a grant from the NOAA Climate Change Program.

3) Community vulnerability to volcano hazards: Research focuses on assessing community vulnerability to volcanic hazards, such as lahars, in the Cascade Range. Research efforts also include development of societal-exposure metrics for national volcano monitoring and preparation of a textbook on volcano-hydrologic processes with USGS colleagues in the Volcano Hazards Program

Collaborations:

Community vulnerability to tsunamis: Hawaii State Civil Defense, Hawaii Office of Planning, Pacific Disaster Center, The Pennsylvania State University, the University of Oregon, and the University of South Carolina, Washington State Emergency Management Division, Washington State/Local Tsunami Working Group, Hawaii Tsunami Technical Review Committee, National Research Council, Oregon Sea Grant, Cascadia Region Earthquake Workgroup, Pacific Risk Management 'Ohana

Community vulnerability to sea-level rise and coastal storms: The Pennsylvania State University, Oregon State University, Oregon Sea Grant, NOAA Climate Change Program

Community vulnerability to volcano hazards: Washington State Emergency Management

Wood, N., and Ratliff, J., 2011. Population and business exposure to twenty scenario earthquakes in the State of Washington. U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2011-1016, v, 13 p.http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2011/1016/.

Wood, N., and Soulard, C., 2008, Variations in community exposure and sensitivity to tsunami hazards on the open-ocean and Strait of Juan de Fuca coasts of Washington: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2008-5004, 34 p. [http://pubs.usgs.gov/sir/2008/5004/].